HOT NEWS !

By Daxim Lucas - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Imagine an underwater hotel room with a panoramic view of tropical fish swimming over large coral reefs, manta rays gliding in the water and turtles chasing after tiny squids. Science fiction ? Not if businessman Paul Moñozca can help it.

Moñozca, a Singapore-based financier who heads a group of international investors, plans to start a futuristic underwater resort off the island of Palawan as part of an aggressive venture into the ecotourism business.

The project, dubbed “Last Frontier Resort,” is expected to bring in a total of $1 billion in investments spread over a 10-year period—an average of $100 million a year which, its proponents hope, will help create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Palawan.

Moñozca—known for his advocacies of helping improve the overseas remittance business, acquiring stakes in the US professional basketball league and junior circuit stock car racing teams—is the main driver of the project. His Monaco-based philanthropic fund, dubbed “Spirit,” plays a lead role in the development of marine habitats and ocean protection initiatives.

The Last Frontier Resort will be built with submarine technology. When completed, the proposed underwater habitat will be the biggest in the world.

The project has been in the planning stage since last year, and its proponents have identified a group of islands in the Calamianes cluster as the site for development.

The site is owned by businessman and resort developer Steve Tajanlangit. It is made up of a group of seven islands in close proximity to each other, and another group of seven islands outside the main cluster.

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By Lesley-Anne Henry - Belfast Telegraph

Titanic fever will grip Belfast this week with the launch of the annual Titanic Made in Belfast Festival.

Hundreds of Titanic and White Star Line artefacts and memorabilia including a postcards written by a passengers on board the doomed vessel, a man’s watch valued at £90,000, and the keys to a family treasure chest that went down with the stricken ship are due to go on display in Belfast today.

This year the eight-day festival is centred around a variety of events at Belfast City Hall, while special Titanic themed tours, on both land and water, will give visitors an opportunity to learn more about the famous liner's ill-fated maiden voyage to New York in 1912.

“The Titanic story is probably one of the most fascinating, amazing, poignant, thought-provoking and absorbing tales from the last century, if not the last millennium,” said Lord Mayor of Belfast, Naomi Long.

“For too long, Belfast’s part in the Titanic story, and the role of the people of Belfast in bringing Titanic to life, has been neglected.

“Over the past few years, the city that gave birth to the ship, and many others, finally and rightfully acknowledged her part in the tale, and Belfast City Council once again is proud to celebrate the achievement, commemorate the tragedy and educate the world about our city’s role in the Titanic story.”

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From Cayman Net News

The U.S.S. Kittiwake, a decommissioned, 251-foot military ship will soon be towed to Grand Cayman for its last assignment: Cayman’s newest dive attraction.

The culmination of a seven-year project between the Ministry and the Department of Tourism, the Kittiwake left the James River Reserve Fleet in St. Eustis, Virginia, on February 18 to be cleaned prior to its arrival in Cayman.

The military vessel will be sunk sometime in July or August this summer on the north end of Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach to provide underwater enthusiasts of all skill levels with a new year-round diving destination.

“Without the initial conceptual and financial support of the Ministry of Tourism, led by the Premier, the Honourable McKeeva Bush, then Minister of Tourism, the Kittiwake would never have happened,” said Nancy Easterbrook, Kittiwake project manager.

“The Ministry of Tourism realized the importance of this initiative when it was first proposed in 2002 and assisted us in kick-starting its development,” said Ms Easterbrook.

“CITA came on board and matched those funds and both parties have committed to keeping the project moving forward the past seven years.”

Prior to sinking, the Kittiwake will be thoroughly prepared for divers and the waters here. All hazardous materials and chemicals will be removed to ensure that they will not leach into Cayman waters.

Multiple vertical and horizontal cutouts will open up the ship to allow natural light to flood the body and enable divers to explore the entire ship safely.

Once sunk, the ship will be marked with corresponding slates for boat operators and divers/snorkelers to be able to easily identify where they are on the ship.

Steve Broadbelt, president of CITA, said that the Kittiwake will boost tourism, bringing new visitors and repeat guests to the islands, since diving shipwrecks is one of the most popular reasons for going diving or snorkeling.

By Dan Scanlan - Jacksonville

The 146th anniversary of the sinking of the Union steamship Maple Leaf by a Confederate mine off Mandarin Point will be commemorated at a 10 a.m. Saturday event at the Museum of Science and History, 1025 Museum Circle in Jacksonville.

Keith Holland, lead excavator of the Maple Leaf wreck in the early 1990s, will discuss the April 1, 1864 disaster that claimed the lives of two crew members and sent the belonging of hundreds of Union soldiers to the bottom.

Modeler Dennis Cannady, who created a scale Maple Leaf model on display in the museum’s Currents of Time exhibit, will discuss the model-making process. At 11:30 a.m., historical performer Shorty Robbins portrays a Maple leaf survivor.

There will be Confederate cannon demonstrations, Civil War re-enactors; displays from the Florida Public Archaeology Network and the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society and two three-dimensional holograms of artifacts recovered from the wreck, created by Englewood High School students.

By Bob Palmer - Sun News

Lake Erie has the highest concentration of shipwrecks per square mile, according to Avon Lake residents Mike and Georgann Wachter, veteran divers who wrote three books on Lake Erie wrecks.

Since the Wachters took up diving in the early 1970s, Mike said their love for history keeps them hooked on the hobby.

Their passion for identifying newly discovered wrecks and uncovering records of vessels’ treks opened doors to speaking engagements throughout the Great Lakes, including a recent presentation to the Women’s Club of Avon Lake.

“We get a thrill to figure out its name and history.” Mike said. “It has to do with the lives that went with it (the wrecks) as well as the stories.”

With scientific precision, the Wachters surveyed Lake Erie and approximately 90 percent of the lake’s 300 known wrecks with scanners, global positioning devices, video surveys, still images, measurements and sketches.

Their persistence yielded a good summer season last year, as the Wachters discovered or swam through eight previously unexplored shipwrecks.

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By Harry Donenfeld - Hawaii Nature Examiner

In January of 2010, a team of divers lead by local Maui dive shop B&B Scuba dove on the wreck of an aircraft that had previously only been known by some of Maui's local fisherman. It turned out that the aircraft they dove on was a Curtis SB2C-1C Helldiver. The last of the WWII dive bombers.

The plane sat on the bottom of the ocean, on a flat sandy bottom, for 66 years.

She lay there collecting only corals and becoming a hostess to a myriad of life. From the giant Yellow Margin Eel that lives in the cockpit to the Ulua that roam under her wings, she has become a haven for life under the sea.

Truly, a thing of beauty.

Now it is time to bring her to light and share her history and short life with the world. A second team of divers led by Chris Quarre' of North Shore Explorers did a forensic analysis of the aircraft uncovering the tail numbers and thereby identifying her conclusively. Between the two teams a history for this lost wreck has started to unfold. One I am proud to announce here.

The pilot of the plane was Lt. William E. Dill and the plane went down of the 31st of August, 1944. Thanks to the cooperation of Sean Dyer from the fist dive team, we have the actual accident report that was submitted to the Navy back in 1944 !

The plane made a water landing after suffering catastrophic failure of the tail rudder.

The plane could no longer be controlled and Lt. William E. Dill decided that the only course of action was to land the plane in the water with no tail rudder for assistance. Truly an amazing feat of flying !

From the Fence Post

It is nothing short of incredible, the power of mud to preserve. In 1856 the Arabia steamed away from St. Louis bound for ports along the Missouri River where the 200 tons of cargo she carried would be distributed for use in frontier communities.

On Sept. 6, 1856, the Kansas City Enterprise reported, “The steamer Arabia bound for Council Bluffs struck a snag about a mile below Parkville and sunk to the boiler deck — Boat and cargo a total loss.”

The sinking occurred the previous day.

The muddy waters of the Missouri had obscured the snag that bored into the hull of the Arabia, causing the vessel to quickly flood and sink.

Although the crew and passengers — around 130 people in all — survived, the boat laden with merchandise quickly floundered and submerged.

There may have been minimal recovery of goods, but the vast majority of the cargo soon lay in the mud bottom of the Missouri.

The constant wash of water and mud completely covered the Arabia. Over the decades, the river shifted and moved, changing course as all active waterways tend to do.

Treasure hunters began searching for the Arabia. They looked where the river now flows, to the north, to the south, eventually to the west.

And in a farmer's field a half-mile from the present river's edge, in 1988, they found the Arabia, lying buried in mud and soil 45 feet below the surface. The discovery was not just an affirmation of where the steamboat lay, but became an intense archaeological and historical investigation.

The discovery of the Arabia came at the hands of five men: Jerry Mackey, Bob Hawley and his sons, Dave and Greg, and David Luttrell.

Their wives were not too interested in their quest for treasure ... at least not until they pulled the first outstanding piece of china from the hulk.

As the treasure hunters recovered the first plunder from the black, muddy soil they were astounded.

Fine English china had survived the snag and although mud-crusted was perfectly preserved. Beautiful pitchers and patters, cups, plates, saucers, bowls and more were lifted into the daylight for the first time in 132 years.

From Culture24

The futuristic maritime museum at the centre of divisive plans to sell off artwork by Southampton City Council has been given £4.6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Southampton Sea City Museum, a £15 million archaeological and naval showcase designed for a new Cultural Quarter in the city in 2012, will use a converted Grade II-listed magistrates' court to house permanent galleries on immigration and the 549 local voyagers who died when the Titanic sank in 1912.

It drew derision in September 2009 when the Council earmarked two works from Southampton City Art Gallery's revered municipal collection for disposal in a bid to raise up to £4 million towards the development.

Critics, campaigners and a Museums Association warning that the move could have breached its Code of Ethics forced planners to backtrack, but they remain under pressure to raise cash in matchfunding for the HLF award.

Speaking at the time, Council Leader Alec Samuels warned outraged residents that the authority could not afford the Museum without selling Alfred J Munning's After the Race and Auguste Rodin’s Eve.

"If we don't sell some paintings, we don't get a heritage centre,” he said.

"The Heritage Lottery Fund has offered £5 million, £5 million can be raised from business and sponsors, and the remaining £5 million falls to the City Council, which has no money for such a project.

“These decisions have not been taken lightly. The iconic Heritage Museum will bring many more people to the Cultural Quarter and the old and new art galleries.”

The Museum is the first beneficiary of an explosion in Lottery ticket sales which has allowed the Fund to announce a £25 million annual budget increase for heritage projects across the country, rising to £205 million from April.

The ravages of the recession appear to have left most people hoping for a pay-out from Lady Luck, and the official statistics are expected to show record flutter figures when they are published in May.